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Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, The (Xbox 360) by Bethesda Softworks

North Amercian Release Date: March 20, 2006.

Average Overall Score:9.65 / 10
96.5%

Alright let?s just put it this way, this is coming from a hardcore first person shooter fan and not your general RPG fan (don?t get me wrong though I have had the privilege of enjoying the in depth experience of Morrowind)."

Description

The fourth title in the best-selling Elder Scrolls series brings the RPG genre to new heights with its combination of freeform gameplay and cutting-edge graphics. Oblivion features a 3D engine that can render stunningly realistic environments, groundbreaking AI for all characters in the game, and the same open-ended gameplay style that has made The Elder Scrolls one of the most critically acclaimed franchises of all-time.

User Reviews

Overall: So, is this game worth your money? Of course it is! You can find it for roughly $20-25 now a days or you can get it for about 60$ with both of the expansions. It’s a very good deal.

Also, you will play this game for ages, there is so much replay value that it’s ridiculous. There is at least 50+ hours packed into this game if not more. Plus, you can replay this game countless times as a different sort of character and get a whole different yet just as rewarding experience out of it! So, you should definitely pick this up.

Gameplay: Gameplay, wow, where do I begin? This game has so much things for you to do that it’s mind boggling. There are a bountiful amount of quests and a crazy amount of places to explore.

First, let’s start by talking about the simple adventure aspect. In Oblivion you can just go and roam around the countryside, going into dungeons, or exploring ruined fortresses along the way. This is a fulfilling experience and you’ll find tons of cool things. Which is another point, as you level up in the game, so do your enemies. Now, when they level up they also get better equipment, which means that the more you level up the better your chances are of finding very valuable equipment in chests and stuff.

Now if you get bored with just simply roaming around then you can go to one of the many cities and try to find some quests. The easiest way to do this is to go and join some guilds. Unfortunately not ALL of the guilds can be simply joined by talking to someone; some of them, like the Dark Brotherhood, involve doing a special task to join (like murdering someone). But there are some guilds like the Fighters Guild that can be joined quite easily. So go ahead and join one of those and you’ll be rewarded with tons of quests and a lot to do.

So if with all that you can’t find something to do then I don’t know what you’d like. Maybe you’d enjoy running around the countryside killing animals? Who knows. But no matter what there is probably something for you to do. But now, here’s another question: Is all of this fun? Yes.

I should also elaborate on the fighting mechanics. You can use swords, maces, clubs, axes, staffs, daggers, and more to fight as well as spells. The mechanics work very well as you simply use the R button to swing your sword and L to block either with your shield or your sword. It works and it’s fun, it may sound like button mashing but there’s actually a deep level a strategy put in with most battles.

Other then melee combat there are spells and bows. Spells are easy to use and quite effective; there are a huge amount of spells to be used and each one are as rewarding as the next. Being a sorcerer can have great benefits as the combat will be really varied and intriguing. As for the bow it’s well done, suffice to say it it’s perfect. The physics tie in well and it seems like a real bow. I have to say it’s the best bow gameplay I’ve ever experienced.Graphics: Visually the game is breathtaking. All of the NPC’s look wonderful and the backgrounds are simply outstanding. Oblivion was a game slightly ahead of it’s time, truly one of the first games to really push the next generation’s consoles powers to the max. As now we are seeing games that really stand alongside Oblivion.

One thing I truly find incredible are the weapons; they look outstanding. Every small little detail has been taken into consideration; the same goes for the armor. But it’s not just the fact that they look great, it’s also the variety of weapon looks. There are tons of weapons and armor in the game and they all have different looks. I could go on for longer but I’m sure you get the gist of what I’m saying.

As I was saying earlier the background and scenery in the game is gorgeous. It goes from dungeons to the giant forests; it’s simply wonderful. If you simply take a moment to look around you’ll notice how much detail really goes into the scenery and you’ll be amazed. There are tons of flowers, trees, even animals sometimes.

The NPC’s in this game are some of the very best character models I’ve ever seen in a game. They look perfectly human, everything is in context; not to mention the facial expressions. The facial expressions are great, it really adds personality to the characters. It makes them seem more real. All in all Oblivion really sets a standard for how games should look, and a good one at that.

Sound: The music in Oblivion can be summed up in one word: Epic. It’s wonderful, orchestrated, amazing and all around fantastic. You’ll really notice it, as sometimes when you’re walking through a dungeon the music will be all calm when suddenly it picks up pace and you get attacked and the music continues to play as a heart pounding battle theme. Once the battles over and there are no more enemies it goes back to a calm sound which can sometimes be rather eerie.

I think by that you should realize that the music in this game is definitely top par. You’d be crazy if you didn’t like the music and I know for a fact that you will notice it while you play. It’s just that good and intense.

Overall: Elder Scrolls does it again with Oblivion. If you thought that Morrowind was a fantastic game, then you have not even cracked open the case for Oblivion. I am a die hard RPG fan and have been so for many, many years. This game satisfied me in every sense of the word and I finally finished the game (minus the expansion pack) with over 140 hours of gametime!!! With so many options, so many different varations of gameplay available, this game could very well take the RPG of the decade award.

I know that this game has been out for some time now, but for those of you looking to pick it up used or new with the expansion pack, this review is for you. One thing I know for sure, for the price that you can get it for now, it's not worth the rental. There is no way in the world you will come close to beating this game in a week, so save your $$ on the rental and do yourself a favor by going out and just buying the game after reading the reviews. You'll thank me later ;)

From being a meat shield with heavy armor to a deadly @!%#*!@!%#*!in or a skillful mage who would prefer to fry first, talk later, you have all these options and more. For me, I was a heavy armor wearing, 1 hand sword wielding, stealthy @!%#*!@!%#*!in. Yes, you read it right. That's just how diverse this game allows you to get. Gameplay: The gameplay is pretty standard, move and look with your thumbsticks. Block, attack, cast spells, etc. The D-pad is nice as you can set it to be shortcuts for various items/spells/etc that you use quite often in the game. In this way, you are not required to go back into the menu to pick and choose. Where this game really stands out is the diverse ways that you are allowed to play the game. Don't want to start on the main quest yet? Want to hone your skills in the battlefield or spend some time working alchemy? No problem! By the time that I started this game, I had already gone through the entire Fighter's Guild and Arena Champion quest lines, not to mention was half-way through the Mages Guild set as well.

I would suggest that you don't try to immediately jump into the main quest line after the "intro" run. The baddies that you will face within short order are just that, bad :) If you try to do the main quest line and are lower than lvl 20, you will just get pwned and I ain't jokin'.

After the entire game was done, I went back and did the Thieves Guild quest line. The items and buffs that you get as "bonuses" are just incredible. However, I don't know if it would be possible to finish the quest line and achieve all the bonuses without being as high a level as I was (lvl 30).

After a few minutes of the game, you will be given the option to choose which sign you were born under. Choose carefully, as this sign will also govern what bonuses that you have during the game. Bonuses are not just derived from your sign however, some are given by the very race that you choose. For me, as a kitty (can't spell the game name...lol), I could self cast a spell to allow me to see in the dark. I found this the main reason I chose a Kahjeet (or however they spell it :p )

You are also to choose your profession. This profession choice will govern which primary skill sets determine your leveling up. If you choose a profession which uses light armor as a primary, but you find yourself using heavy quite a bit, you choose wrong my friend. As your primary skills increase, so does your level. As any good RPG, after you level, you are given the option to increase certain skills such as agility, strength, persuasion, etc. Note: 100 is your max that you can put into any one skill trait.

There was a glitch here or there with collisions. One such that I remember was in a "haunted" cave. I killed the mob and it was laying in the door path. Then I kept on hearing this "BANG, BANG, BANG" and I was looking around to see what was heading my way as it sounded like a Sherman tank :p I quickly found out that the "BANG, BANG, BANG" was not a mob coming after me, nor a ghost in the haunted cave but rather the door trying to close but the corpse getting in the way. Eventually, the corpse "moved" and the door shut much to my thankfullness because that noise was just getting on my nerves. For me, it was a few small glitches like this which drove down the rating a bit. Graphics: Visually the game was stunning. From the beautifully done water to the intricate details in each character's face. The developers did a fantastic job here as it made the world very immersive. My only issue was each home kinda seemed like the previous one before it. There were a few variations here or there, but you could tell it was the same model with a different skin over it. Overall though, very pleased with the graphics.

I will comment in the Developer's Suggestions with regards to the Kahjeet skill to see in the dark. Quite a bit of improvement was needed there, but since it was only one aspect of the game, it was not enough to drop down the score. Sound: I found the music and dialog in the game to be great as well. Very immersive. I enjoyed how many different voice overs I heard in the game. To be honest though, the illusion was broken about 3/4 of the way through the game when I began to meet characters who voices sounded EXACTLY like a previous character I met a few hours/days before (game time) It was very disappointing. I understand that with the vast amount of characters in this game, having each one unique would be nigh impossible. However, it did break the illusion of a "unique" world and as thus, it dropped my audio score.

However, that being said, the music score, background elements, dialog, sounds, etc were all wonderfully done. Suggestions: My suggestion would be to look at the Gameplay Description section for one of the bugs I mentioned. This was not an isolated instance, but occured a few times here or there. Perhaps nobody ever submitted a bug ticket .... /shrug.

My main suggestion would be for the Kahjeet (sp) vision spell. When that thing is on, it drowned every other nice detail in color all out. Nice, pretty shades of blue is all I could see. While I got used to it and could def see better with it on than not, there was several instances where I was talking with an NPC and missed certain key elements because I could not see them. For example, talking with one of the guys in the Thieves Guild, I could not tell he was a vampire until he said something. Again, this was not an isolated instance.

My suggestion is to make the eye of night spell not turn everything a monochromatic shade of blue, but rather just brighten everything so that it's easier to see. In this way, you don't miss out on the great coloring or intricate details which you just cannot see when this spell is active.

Overall: Intro:
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is finally here after much waiting and anxious anticipation. If you have ever played any of the series, most notably Morrowind, then you understand the broad range of freedom and scope that Bethesda can deliver. A game where you can literally explore for hours finding new places, dungeons, and towns, but being able to stop on the way, look around the vast landscape around you and even look at the minute details that have gone into the world to make it immersive as possible.

From the moment you are thrown into the main storyline in a cl@!%#*!ic good vs. evil plotline, there is much more underneath the basic premise and will have you traveling all over, and if Bethesda has done their job right, hours and hours spent on side quests, advancing ranks in guild missions, exploring landscape for more dungeons and treasure, and arena battles that can easily get you sidetracked.

Gameplay:
Start Oblivion, and after the game’s first cut scene that explains briefly what is happening in the world, you instantly start to design your character with much detail and enough options that you can spend some time getting just everything perfectly. Adjusting facial features such as length of nose, hair, chin and such is just the starting. Even getting your eye color the way you want, the options are very deep, and should make you happy with how you want to exactly look. There are different races to chose from, each having their own positives and negatives for stats and certain cl@!%#*!es.

As you start off the game after creating your masterpiece of a character, the first dungeon, which is basically following the King and his guards for a prison break, you are taught some of the fundamentals of gameplay, and while you are guided along where to go, everything you do here should be thought of as the “Training Level”. As you complete this first dungeon, everything you have done up till this point will be noted and you will be given a recommendation of what type of cl@!%#*! you should play based on how you have been so far. You are more than welcome to pick one of the template character cl@!%#*!es, or even completely customize your own how you wish. At the end of this first dungeon before you leave to the outside world, you are given one final chance to change any aspect about your character including name, race, appearance and skills. Once you leave this section, there is no turning back for any character changes, so make sure you understand what skills do what, and which ones to make your primary, or you will have major headaches later on. Sadly, this is more or less learned by trial and error if you’ve never played Morrowind, any anyone who has, will understand how the leveling system is and the difference in making skills primary or secondary.

As you leave the prison’s sewers, you are now set loose in the world of Cyrodiil with your first task that starts you along with the main quest, though it does not pressure you into doing so. This being Oblivion, you can march through the main storyline if you wish and complete that portion of the game, or simply do whatever you want and travel anywhere doing anything your heart desires. When you are on a specific mission or task, your comp@!%#*! will have an arrow always pointing you in the right direction, so you are never truly lost on where you should be heading next. If you are given a red arrow, it means you are not in the correct city or zone or need to go through a door somewhere, but if it is green, the person or place you seek is nearby.

Don’t feel like walking everywhere and want to get where you need to be right now? Bring up your map and choose the icon of the place you wish to go to magically be whisked away instantly (minus the loading screen). The only trick to this is that you have to either visited the place before, or know of it through conversations with NPC’s if it’s a town or city. So as you are give a quest to go clear a certain dungeon of all the vampires or whatnot, if you have not been there before, or traveled within proximity, you have to walk (or if you’ve obtained a horse at this point) the way. Most areas needed to go are near a city, so worst case scenario; you fast travel to the closest city or town, and then do the journey from there.

Making any quest you have available from your journal your “active” quest is very easy, and will instantly give you the new arrows of where to go, and the descriptions of what is needed to do, so that coming back to old forgotten quests is not really a burden in remembering where you were before you got sidetracked.

The main quest has a very simple Good vs. Evil concept at the start, but as you learn more about the King’s @!%#*!@!%#*!ination, long lost son, why Oblivion Gates are opening up across the land, and how you are going to stop them, it becomes much more involved and more time goes by than you ever thought would in a single player game. If you were to strictly only do the main storyline and absolutely nothing else, I found it was surprisingly over quickly, though the multiple climaxes of the plot does not disappoint at all. This is nearly impossible to do though, as you will get sidetracked and venture off to do other things to advance your character and chart new areas.

There are literally so many things you can do, that a simple 20 hour main quest can at times not even be remotely close to your focus. With multiple guilds that will have you doing errands and quests escalading in difficulty to climb up the ranks, cities that are littered with people that all have problems that apparently only you are capable of solving, join the battles in an Arena to make a name for yourself, rob people blind for everything they have then sell it to make a profit, explore mysterious dungeons and be a treasure hunter, become a vampire and feed on the living, or even buy a house for yourself and do what you wish with it. With it being completely open ended, this is just a fraction of things that can sidetrack you from any certain quest or anything else you may be doing, without it being too daunting at the same time.

You can play any style you wish, so if you prefer to sneak in the shadows, pickpocket people, steal their items to see if you can get away with it, and just simply act roguish, you are given the skills to do so. If you would rather just smash your enemies with a giant hammer or sword and plow through anything that looks at you the wrong way, feel free to do so as well. Even combine different styles and play exactly how you wish, and depending on how you decided your skills, almost any character cl@!%#*! or skills are possible.

The more you use your skills, the greater you become at them. If you want to become a master archer, keep using it and you will become more powerful and unlock more skills as you progress. If you want to be a master at haggling for better store prices, that is also a viable option that if you become good enough, you can actually invest into stores and reap the benefits.

The strength of armor, spells, and weapons you obtain in the game are solely based on your characters level, which in turn is risen by your main skill attributes. This is why picking your main skills is very important, because if you pick a skill like Acrobatics for example that is naturally going to level up as you progress, you will become burdened by the level advancements, because you can now jump and run fast, but your combat and defensive skills will lack, causing you to constantly play catch-up with your other skills.

There are four guilds across the land, which you are able to join, obviously after some tests and tribulations though, to prove your worthiness and trust of course. The four guilds that you are able to join are the Fighters, Thieves, Mages, and Dark Brotherhood. They all have their own quests and rewards, and at times, interconnect and can sometimes be difficult to do one guild orders without failing another’s at the same time. Though sometimes very daunting and frustrating at times, the rewards in the end are generally worth all the trouble and time spent for it, not to mention the achievement points.

There is an Arena in the Imperial City where you can become a gladiator to rise in the ranks and compete for gold and fame. Sadly, if you are very proficient at combat, this side portion of the game can be done very quickly if you decide to finish it quickly, as in around 30 minutes start to finish. The non combat heavy characters should enjoy the challenge though trying to fend off fights in one vs. one, one vs. two, and even one vs. three. And like the guild quests, the achievement points alone should be incentive enough to complete this action filled portion of your adventures.

Radiant AI is something that Bethesda touted about for a long time, and in simple terms, this basically means that NPC’s can almost think for themselves. They will have certain tasks they need to get done, such as work, or getting to places and anything in between is almost “as it happens”. An easy example of this would be, say a certain NPC is hungry because its lunch time. They will look around the house for something to eat, but what happens if you stole all their food while they weren’t looking? They would venture out to get some, or better yet, if you happened to put a poisoned apple in their pocket without them knowing, they could take a bite of that, and then you could do what you wish with their belongings once they keel over dead.

Sometimes you need to obtain information from NPC’s on clues where to go next, but sometimes they will not like you, or trust you enough to divulge secrets to you. Depending on your skills, you can try to sweet talk them with high speech craft skills, charm them with spells to make yourself seem more attractable, or simply bribe them with money. Obviously trying to bribe guards and other characters will not always be looked upon kindly and may even lower your disposition towards that person.

With so many skills that become unlocked, and spells you may obtain throughout the course of the game, there is a hotkey system that allows up to eight items able to be changed on the fly. These can be pieces of armor that may have certain enchantments you need for certain situations (water breathing items for example), different weapons for different types of monsters (bow and arrow to pull it close, then hack away with a sword), and of course, all different types of spells you may have. Considering the scope of the game, it can feel very limited to only have 8 hotkeys especially if you are a mage heavy character, though combat driven character may not notice this burden as much. If there was a way to have different sets of 8, it might have been handier, but also being set to the D-Pad, it can sometimes be annoying to try and hit one of your diagonal arrows for a certain spell in time, but not always correctly choosing the right one.

While the game feels and plays out like it is meant to be in first person mode, there is options for playing in third person, but with making combat incredibly tougher not being able to always judge your distance, and some of the embarr@!%#*!ing animations like jumping and strafing, it feels more immersive in first person by far. Moving the camera back to third person is usually only used when traveling to get a broader scope of your surroundings, or if you are trying to find a secret lever or item on the ground.

Certain bugs are still present, such as odd sound glitches, clipping through walls, NPC’s sometimes acting “brain-dead”, and my personal favorite, breaking into someone’s house, then going in and talking to the NPC and them acting like nothing has happened. The apparent bugs can be annoying and at times frustrating when you get stuck somewhere, but overall, you learn to live with it, and it doesn’t really take away from the game so much that you notice after awhile.

Visual:
Visually, there has not been anything to this scale done before, and the distances you can see at times, especially on mountaintops, can be very breathtaking. Your environment is not flat, and with trees and gr@!%#*! swaying in the wind, or rain coming into your face, there is a huge level of detail put into the world. Day and night comes and goes, and you can even see deer run across the land in the plains. Exploring can be very enjoyable to see how high you can actually get, or how deep a lake actually goes. Waterfalls will even have mist at their base with plants needed for alchemy usually thriving near water sources.

Almost every weapon you own will look different from others, and as you obtain the higher level ones, they can be very intricately detailed and simply gorgeous to look at with glows and enchantments on them as well. Armor is the same way, with light chain or leather armor looking very distinct from heavy iron or steel sets, with them even shining differently in the light.

In dungeons you will find cobwebs in corners, dirt on the ground, dust on treasure chests and littered bones if it’s quite a dangerous place to be. Sometimes the walls can look repetitive, but with all the lighting effects and the traps laid out to look for, it’s usually not noticed.

Physics also play a role, where if you kill an animal on a downward slope, they will roll and tumble accordingly, even bouncing off rocks or down cliffs. This can be pretty entertaining itself, but when you want to loot the monster you just killed, chasing after it down a hill waiting for it to stop gets old. Hitting someone in the head hard enough with a bow can even make them back flips, sending their body one direction into a wall, and the weapon in completely the opposite direction.

For how gorgeous everything can look, there are still faults that are apparent, and sometimes even take away from being immersed. While you can see for miles at certain places, the objects far off don’t look sharp and usually have very low textures, enough to be extremely noticeable and out of place. As you travel across the land, since it’s such a huge area, it will sometimes stutter as its loading everything in the vicinity nearby. If you are on horseback, it only makes the problem worse, sometimes almost skipping if you have one of the faster horses. It’s bearable, but really shouldn’t be there. Fortunately the regular loading times of exiting or entering places are decent; it seems to just be the traveling outside for the most part.

Sound:
Sound is undoubtedly the absolute star of the game and brings in a new feeling of gameplay, due to every single NPC being voiced for all dialogue. Obviously many minor characters that have very few lines, or even just one, you sometimes think that different characters have the exact same voice. Surprisingly even with the one-liners and sometimes repetitive responses, nothing sounds too out of line or cheesy.

The star casts for two of the main characters are voiced by celebrities. Patrick Stewart plays the king that gets @!%#*!@!%#*!inated very early in the journey and you can distinctly tell that it’s him. It’s quite amusing, though I was waiting for him to tell me to “engage”, not “Close shut the gates of Oblivion”. The majority of the main quest focuses on the long-lost son of the emperor, Martin, who is perfectly voiced by Sean Bean.

The music definitely adds a special feel to certain situations as well. As you adventure and explore freely, you hear a happy cheery melody that makes you feel like you’re floating across the land and that all is good in the world. When an enemy spots you, the music will change to a tense battle sequence so that you know you’re in combat, and gently fades away once your combat is over. Dungeons will have an eerie musical score that makes you feel like you want to be creeping slowly and watching your footing.

As you pluck your bow and arrow, you will hear the string tighten and “twang”, swords will clash and make it sound like there are sparks, water drips in dungeons, footsteps of people and yourself that change according to the type of ground you are on, and even you swaying in the water. Skeleton bones crumble when you defeat them, ghosts and wraiths let out an eerie wailing gasp when they are defeated and being in an Oblivion gate is overall pure frightening with the music and enemy battle cries.

Closing Comments:
One of the major things that really stuck out for me was that there were only 2 cut scenes in the whole game; the beginning and end, which is unfortunate due to how beautifully they were done. With all the criticisms that could be held against it, it’s impossible to deny the enjoyment that will come from everything that is possible from this title. Bethesda has scored again by listening to the fans and improved upon many aspects from Morrowind. It is by no means perfect, but there is nothing else that compares to the scale and immersiveness that you will get from enjoying this game.

Simply put, Oblivion is the single best single player experience you can get that has come along in quite some time on the Xbox 360. With almost unlimited gameplay hours and never a shortage of things to do, Oblivion is an incredible experience that should be even played by non RPG fans. It’s not often a gem like this will spoil us for expectations for future gaming.

Overall: Definitely the best RPG game I have ever played. Over 100 hours of gameplay is available on it, and the graphics are awesome! I love everything on it, and it really teaches you a lotGameplay: So easy to control, has 1st and 3rd person point of view, and is overall really great. So much space, and will take you years to explore every inch of Cyrodiil. I have had it since December '06, and still haven't explored everything on it!Graphics: Oh wow, graphics are amazing. At least 200x better than a Mario game. The monsters have true colors, and no NPC is the same!Sound: Great soundtrack...sounds like an orchestra. I love the battle music, and the introduction music. It is all so great!Suggestions: Come out with an Elder Scrolls V!

Overall: Overall this game is pritty good. But if you have a life other than gaming, I strongly suggest not to even think about playing this game. For it is extreamly time consuming and very addictive. Other than that, this is a great game full adventure.Gameplay: The gameplay has made an improvement sense "Elder Scrolls 3". The controls are smoother than ever, but their is still problems. For instants, when you walk up or down any stair case you appear to be floating. Also after a while this game gets extremely repetitive, so watch out. But on a positive note, the fighting is much more realistic than it was in "Elder Scrolls 3". Also you can cast spells on command, thats right all you mage fans. You won't have make ten attempts just to cast one spell.Graphics: I must say that the visuals in the game are outstanding. This is the most beautiful game that I have ever seen. This game also has it's own weather system, including rain, snow, cloudy, and clear skys, also the weather changes depending on the area of which you are located. Not to mention an incredible sun rise and sun set. This game also displays it's own array of stars and planets. All of these things just add to the endless beauties of this game. I guarantee that the visual aspects of this game will blow you away. Sound: The sound in this game was remarkable, it made a tremendous improvement. Including a wonderful soundtrack that is played throughout the game. Unlike "Elder Scrolls 3", the sound in this game is crystal clear, and because of the music it is rather enjoyable.Suggestions: Yes, I do have one suggestion for the developer of this game. The lock pick design, I'm sorry to say is down right awful! It is by far the worst design that I personally have ever come across. Please do us all a favor and do not put that same design in the "Elder Scrolls 4" expansion, or the next "Elder Scrolls" game.

Overall: This game is nothing short of amazing and for it to be one of the first games out it set the bar pretty high.Gameplay: Gameplay is very time consuming but it is a very fun game to play and its even funner to get the achiements that are fairly easy to get but just time consuming.Graphics: The graphics in the game are so sharp and clear its amazing how real some of the people look. Even during the cut-scenes the graphics dont fade or lag.Sound: The sound in the game is Nearly superior but there are some parts in the game where sound tends to lag or be distorted.Suggestions: Only thing i would suggest is to make more armor types in the gameplay. and perhaps find a way to make a multi-player out of it. If done right multi-player would be fun and exiting way to play. perhaps have huge 25 vs 25 war ?

Overall: If you ever played Morrowind and haven't played this yet you don't know what your missing. Oblivion is all around better It has great visuals, gameplay, and sound.Gameplay: The fighting for the most part is smooth. Except when you are fighting big groups. Graphics: There are better games out there graphic wise but Oblivion holds it's ownSound: The music fits the game perfectly like when you get in a battle it speeds up.Or when your walking through the woods it's a nice tune

Overall: This is an awesome RPG. From start to end it's a great game beat the main story in 6 hrs and spend the rest of your time going after the other quests and looking for the big wepons that everyone talks about. I say a definate buy. FPS, Magic, Horses, this game is like the San Andreas of the mystical Elderscrolls world. Gameplay: From the second you pop in the disk it's full of adventure and the downloads add alot to the game like... wepons and hideouts. a perfect 10 if i say so.Graphics: beautiful visuals beautiful world full of detail. dungeons castles the mouths move almost in time with the words! over all they didnt drop the bar one bitSound: love the sound but my favorite thing ever is... well get this YOU GET TO PUT YOUR OWN MUSIC INTO THE GAME! lol i'm killing ppl listening to some rap and rock and well when i want to rid the world of vampires i just pop in the backstreet ... not really on the backstreet just trying to make an argumentSuggestions: Keep Doing great work like you have been doing it's friggin AWESOME!

Overall: This game is simply amazing. I'll easilly log over 300 hours into it. The level of freedom is unmatched. I love the guilds and quests.Gameplay: Great! I love doing all the quests, and collecting great items. Just roam around and possible quests will pop in.Graphics: Very good. The graphics will awe you. It gets a 4.5 becuase of occasional framerate drops when your outside (especially when your on a horse). And pop up graphics, things will pop in mid-run.Sound: Holy voice-acting! Hours on hours on hours of great dialogue. They must have recorded tons. I love it.Suggestions: Keep on doing what your doing.

Overall: Oh my god! This is the longest game you will ever play however not one second of it is boring. There are so many things to do it is almost to much.I normally don't plat RPG's but this one is just so great it is difficult to turn it down. This is the mother of RPG's.Gameplay: Gameplay will satisfy anyone and everyone. You can be anything, stealthy, brute force, archer, magician or combine them. Even after those character choice there are more things that broken down into guilds. In the guilds you are a thief, an assassin, a mage, and fighter(like a police force/army). You can also be things that arn't involved in a guild, like a gladiator for example. This game has a great range of creatures that all have different abilities, strengths and weakneses. There is also a good amount of weapons, armor, and clothing, and jewlery. You have many skills that you can use to for fighting, magic, making potions, and everything in between. There are also many ways to increase your skills. You can use them frequently, level up, pay for training or even read a book. This game is extrmemely realistic in that for every action there is a punishment or reward. If someone catches you doing something like stealing and BAM! You get a bounty on your head and guards pursuit you. Every thing I just said is just thing you do on the side I havn't gotten to the main quest. The main quest is all about an evil daedra lord trying to taken over the world and now he has the opportunity since he assassinated the emporer and his heirs. There is one more chance for you though, your quest is to find one heir that the daedra lord doesn't know about. You do many things in this long difficult quest things like going undercover as an aprrentice for the Daedra Lord, destryoing oblivion gates and even saving a city call Kvatch. This game has it all.Graphics: The graphics are great and they have a good 3D feel. The great thing about it is that almost every person has a different appearance.every weapon is different and they all have distinct characteristics. The armour is well sketched out and everything in them is well defined. I liked how you could change your view from first to third person. All together everything in this game looks real, especially the buildings and scenery.Sound: They really did a great job in the music. They have a great band and a great song for everydifferent part of the game. I love how they changed it up from deep basses and tubas to flutes and violins. Other than music the things characters say and how they say them really adds to the characters essence and personality.
They did a good job of capturing every sound affect to. Throughout the game you will hear weapons clashing, hammers pounding, horses running , and of course monsters making their own distorted noise.Suggestions: Keep doing what your doing and make new games.

Overall: Well, after many years of long, hard searching, I have found it. The RPG to rule them all. The 4th entry in the Elder Scrolls series is (despite many people's opinions) a breakthrough in what a game can be and how it can immerse you in a fully realised and meticulously planned environment. The improvements over Morrowind are monumental. Gone are the bland, lifeless characters with samey, written dialouge. In Oblivion, each character has a unique personality, set of abilities, and agenda. Each line of dialouge is recorded by brilliant voice actors, which adds a fantastic layer of detail to the game. (And takes up over half the DVD, according to Bethesda, the Developers.) The system dubbed "Radiant AI" works terrifically to make this game an extremely immersing and addictive game, with the potential for at least 100 hours of free-roaming, no limits, non linear gameplay.Gameplay: The gameplay has been much improved over the clunky and messy Morrowind. The most notable improvements have been to the combat system. Instead of the dreaded "swish" sound of missing your foe when it was clearly a hit, the new combat system makes sure you hit every time. How much damage you do of course depends on your level, weapon, and luck. Switching between magic and your weapon is now a breeze. More specifically, You don't even have to switch at all. Everything, running, horse riding, combat, interface, and dialouge now feels completely natural.Graphics: This IS a next-gen title.The graphics are absoloutly awesome. The forest environments are rich with foliage and alive with all sorts of creatures. The wastes of Oblivion are creeping, dripping with all manner of Demonic motifs. (spikes, corpses, flesh) The caves are suitably cramped and claustriphobic. The weapons gleam invitingly, and best of all, the character models. Each character that can talk has their lips in perfect synchronisation with their dialouge. Each part of the Oblivion graphics system is incredibly polished with very little slow-down.Sound: Once again, good 'ol Jeremy Soule (The John Williams of the game world) has delivered a stunning and emotional score. The music, although lacking in quantity, is of the highest standard, and perfectly complements any scene. Sound effects are also top-notch with dripping in caves, to snow under your feet, and the clinking of heavy doors making a huge contribution to the immersive quality of the game.Suggestions: Set Elder Scrolls V in Summerset Isle. Then all my dreams would come true.

Overall: I have had the pleasure of playing games for over 25 years now. I am a true gamer. Oblivion has become, in my opinion, a top 5 game ALL TIME! I enjoy all kinds of games, but can say that roleplay games are not my favorite. This is definitely an exception to the rule. From the minute you start playing Oblivion, you become completely obsessed with it. This game is an experience that may change what you may think a video game is all about. It certainly changed me!Gameplay: I don't think you could ask for more in gameplay! From the controls to inventory screens, this game is truely a gem. Every aspect moves so fluidly and feels second nature. The occasional glitches don't come close to bothering me considering the entire scope of this masterpiece!Graphics: Visually Oblivion is, in my opinion, the most stunning game I have ever seen for any console period. Every little detail is beautifully detailed. I catch myself comstantly stopping what I am suppose to be doing and just look at my surroundings. The only issue that I have seen is how the landscape just appears in front of you as you are moving. This can be irratating, but it does not come close to becoming an issue considering how wonderful everything looks! This game is an artistic wonder.Sound: Another reason why Oblivion is one of the best games ever created. The soulnd effects and music are top notch. The voice acting is done extremely well. I wish there were more individual voice actors though. You will here the same voice doing 50+ NPCs each(all with individual dialog though). Overall, the sound is the quality of any top budget movie these days. Of course, this is only my opinion. Suggestions: Give us more downloadable content now! Weapons would be insane! Make the next installment asap!!!

Overall: Wow. This game is big. I mean really big. It is extremyl good. There is so much to do I just might start over again because I don't like my choice. Gameplay: it is fun and difficult at times. Enemies in some places are extremly difficult to kill, and It is still great when you do. There is so many things to buy and do.Graphics: Pretty darn good. The forests and caverns are jsut incredible. The physics are pretty wild too. Sound: Great sound. All the enimes sound slightly different, and all the people have differnt voices. Thats a game. Suggestions: Yes. DO it again.

Overall: Bethesda did a very good job on this next-gen title, Oblivion is one of best games I have ever played and I don?t really care for RPG?s that much. Gameplay: Oblivion is a very fun game, however the long load times take away from the gameplay. This game is very long, with a very high replay value. Graphics: This game looks amazing, some of the biggest environments for a game ever. The player models are very good looking and the environments are very interactive. Sound: The voice-overs are some of best I have ever heard, there is so much dialog in this game. The in-game sound is amazing, really immerses you into the game.

Overall: this game is huge!, i have been playing it for 85 hours, and still have probably another 30 hours to go. i wish there was more monsters, theres like 25 of them.. for this size of a game and area there should be 200.Gameplay: game play is easy. it only takes about 1 hour to really get a hold of things. one bad thing that i have encountered is about 10 game freeze ups..Graphics: graphics are ok. nothing to flip out over. one bad thing is that there are about 500 npcs and main characters, and out of that 500 or so there are about 30 unique looking people. meaning that everyone looks the same.Sound: music is good sounds kind of like pirates of the carribean movie music. one other problem is that like above with the graphical comments all the npcs sound the same. its the same 15 people throughout the game.Suggestions: it would take forever to add my comments here, but its a good game, usually i can whip thru rpg's in 20-30 hours or less, but this is definatley worth the 60$. just wish it was better.

Overall: i have been playing oblivion for over 20 hours across three characters.

the graphics are stunning even if there are a few draw distance flaws. it is a fun game to play and there is alot to do but at times it can get repeative.

i myself am not a big fan of rpgs or the elderscrolls games but this game is addictive and well worht the buyGameplay: gameplay consists of sneaking and getting stealth kills. using a bow. swords axes and other weapons that are in every game.

the gameplay is really about having fun and this game delivers on that basis but can get repetative if played for many hours on endGraphics: graphics are amazing with the wind moving the grass the peoples faces also look wonderful though some of the expressions are creepy when you catch them reading a book.

some drawbacks are that the draw distence has a few bugs that when you are roaming around outside mostly you will load and you will see it load the peice but other then that it is stunningSound: sound is well done but i have seen some instances of people talking and there sound wouldnt play until i either had to make a selection or stop talking to them

Overall: 100 %Gameplay: 100 %Graphics: 90 %Sound: 90 %

Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, The News

Elder Scrolls V May Feature Completely New Engine
Bethesda has been working on Skyrims tech for "many years," Todd Howard says. All we can say is "THANK YOU!"Elder Scrolls V in Development of Direct Sequal
Bethesda reportedly hard at work on the fifth entry of the long-running RPG franchise. The key word here is "reportedly".Bethesda Planning "Secret" E3 Announcement
Latest issue of Famitsu reveals the developer apparently still has an announcement up its sleeve.No New Elder Scrolls Anytime Soon
At a recent press event, Bethesdas VP of Marketing and Public Relations Pete Hines told attendees not to hold their breath in regards to a new game in the Elder Scrolls franchise.Oblivion To Be Re-Released
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Game of the Year Edition will incorporate all of the content found in a number of its downloadable updates, including the Shivering Isles and Knights of the Nine expansion packs.Civilization Revolution Heads to Xbox 360
Sid Meiers Civilization Revolution has been announced for the Xbox 360, it is set to release in 2008. Civilization will eat up all your spare time as you aim to become ruler of the world.Shivering Isles Patch Out Now
PC and Xbox 360 players can finally fix the game breaking bug that was introduced with the expansion. The formID bug rears its ugly head after the expansion has been played for a lengthy period of time.Shivering Isles Fix Coming Monday
A fix for the formID bug which has been crippling Shivering Isles should be available for the PC and Xbox 360 on Monday, April 30.Shivering Isles Available On XBL Marketplace
Shivering Isles features more than 30 hours of new gameplay and allows you to explore an entirely new plane of Oblivion – the realm of Sheogorath, the Daedric Prince of Madness.Oblivion (Shivering Isles): Achievements
There are 10 additional content achievements worth 250 points
In total, there are 60 achievements worth 1250 points.Shivering Isles Priced, Dated
Today Bethesda announced the price and release date for the latest expansion to its epic RPG landscape, The Elder Scrolls IV: The Shivering Isles.Download Mehrunes’ Razor For Free On Xbox360
Bethesda Softworks is pleased to announce that they have worked with the good folks at Xbox Live to give away one of the most popular downloads for Oblivion – Mehrunes Razor.Oblivion Tops Spike TV Game Awards
Over the weekend, Spike TV held its fourth annual Video Game Awards in Los Angeles, with Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion walking away with top honors.Oblivions Knights Of The Nine Coming to X360
Bethesda announces a big batch of new content for the RPG.Oblivion: Spell Tomes
You can now download Spell Tomes for Oblivion from the Xbox Live Marketplace.
New Oblivion Content
The fifth piece of downloadable content for the mega-rpg is on the way. Too bad it costs ya, but you know its got you in its grip...Xbox 360: Oblivion Download Available
New content is now available for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion on the Xbox Live Marketplace.Oblivion Upgraded from Teen To M
Oblivion has had its age rating raised by the Electronic Software Ratings Board (ESRB) after a player created an adult modification.EA RPG to rival Oblivion?
Can EA take on Bethesda and create a game better than Oblivion with The Gray Company?New Downloadable content for Oblivion!
If youve already finished The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and are looking for more to do, fret no longer.Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Stores Now
The Elder Scrolls® IV: Oblivion™ is now available for the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system.New Oblivion Screens And Trailer
Pretty pretty. One more week, baby!Oblivion Hits March 20!
The wait is over. The first true killer app for Xbox 360 is about three weeks away. Good hunting.Oblivion Achievements
With the release of Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (hopefully) imminent, some new info regarding achievements has been leaked to the internet. Check out what you'll need to do to up your gamer score.Oblivion Collector’s Edition Revealed
Fans of The Elder Scrolls -- or just RPGs generally have wanted to begin living in Oblivion since the forth title in the series was first announced. While Bethesda isn't ready to announce a specific release date just yet, the game is nearly finishedOblivion Finds Us On March 20th?
Rumors abound that The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion will hit the streets on March 20th. Unfortunately, Bethesda has yet to comment on an official release date.Fourteen New Oblivion Screens
That release date is so close yet so far away at the same time. Here are some more goodies to help tide you over.Oblivion Cast Details
Youve probably heard that Patrick Stewart will be cast, but today Bethesda has made public some of the other voice talent involved. Sean Bean, who played the tragic hero Boromir in LotR, will play the emperors lost heir. More details inside.Three New Oblivion Screen Shots
In today's preview of Tamriel, we ransack a city, seduce a comely serving wench, and go buck huntin'. Yeehaw!Two New Oblivion Screen Shots
Two more beautiful Oblivion screens. Ooh, the colors. The colors!